Peace Is Bad for the Environment

Jun 10, 2021 | Hank Campbell
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In 2016, after over a half century of fighting, the communist group Revolutionary Armed Forces of Colombia (FARC) gave up. The revolutionaries had hidden in the Andes-Amazon region and the occupied rainforest remained under-developed for obvious violent reasons: if you want to have a successful takeover, you can't make people happier, you have to make them miserable and hope they blame the government. 

It didn't work, and instead simply created multi-generational terrorism. The only winner during the attempted overthrow was, strangely, the environment, according to a new paper. With peace sort-of occurring (FARC militias continue to terrorize some parts of the countryside) it was time to rebuild a nation and that meant making basic necessities like food and energy more affordable. To do that often means clearing space in places that otherwise just hold giant insects.